Radford Virginia in 1981 was a different place in a different time.  Before the information age, things moved more slowly.  Tasks that are instantaneous today took hours, days, and sometimes even weeks back then.  During 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot.  NASA launched the first space shuttle flight.  The Oakland Raiders beat the Philadelphia Eagles for the Superbowl trophy while Dolly Parton hit the charts with “9 to 5”.  And while everyone was glued to their television sets to finally learn who shot J.R, a young man named Dean Young was just starting out on his new business adventure at 1620 East Main Street in Radford.
Dean’s father had been a mechanic, but the internal workings of the vehicles were not for him.  Dean wanted to work more with the outside than the inside, so he began working for other body shops until he had the skill and motivation to strike out on his own.

What would eventually be called “Dean’s Body Shop” opened simply as “The Body Shop”, and with only Dean on the payroll, it was a one-man show.  Using just three work bays, he would do the estimate, the repair, the refinish, clean up, and even the delivery on his own.
But the world was an easier, less stressful place in those years – even for someone starting a business.  Where business start-up today means long hours, exhausting effort, cutthroat competition, and anxiety, Dean remembers getting his work done early and taking his daughter, Lyndsay, fishing.  As seen in many a popular television show from a more wholesome time in Hollywood, Dean would often draw a picture of a man fishing out of a boat and write “gone fishing” at the top.  He’d then hang that little sign on the door and that’s what the father-daughter duo would do the rest of the day.
“Times were much simpler back then,” says Young.  “The cars were easier to repair, and the process was much easier.”
But it wasn’t all Mayberry dreams.  There was work to do.  Dean remembers how lengthy the estimating process was back then.  Using parts catalogs for reference, estimates were researched and hand-written instead of web-searched and computer-printed.  The payphone that hung in the office was the business phone, and Dean would use it to call salvage yards and parts departments.  Sometimes they had toll-free numbers, but Dean also kept a good supply of quarters.
Dean Young has seen a lot of changes over the years.  Cars got more complicated, and were built with newer, different materials.  As a result, the cost of parts and materials skyrocketed.  Even the technology and know-how needed to fix the cars had to keep up.
But Dean had lots of great help through all the years technology was marching forward.  His wife, Debbie, ran the office while body-men and painters came on board to help Dean’s become what it is today.  A nine-bay facility now stood where Dean’s original three-bay shop once was, and Dean was able to stop working on the cars himself.  This allowed him to focus on writing estimates, helping the customers, ordering parts, and running daily errands.
In 2005 Dean and Debbie’s daughter, Lyndsay, joined the team.  Though she originally had dreams of becoming an interior designer, Lyndsay started taking her dad’s notepad-written estimates and inputting them into the computer.  Though Dean himself never got the hang of doing the computer work, Lyndsay says his estimates were just as sharp.  “He can pretty much tell you the price of something and its right there with the software,” says Lyndsay.  “I remember one time he missed an estimate by two cents, and I couldn’t believe it!”
Lyndsay also took on the responsibility for payroll and bill-paying.  Though she was unaware at the time, her part-time helping was just the beginning of a life-long journey that would become family legacy.  Over the years, she took on many different jobs within the shop, and it was not always an easy process.  “Some days I was overwhelmed,” says Lyndsay, “and I wanted to quit.  Somedays, I actually did quit.  But I was always back in there the next morning.”  Sixteen years later, and she’s still at it.  Leaving the bulk of the body work to her team, Lyndsay has done some prepping and painting, as well as some diagnostics and detailing.
“I’ve enjoyed working day to day with her,” says Dean, “and teaching her the ins and outs of the business.  She does a great job.”  So great, in fact, that she took over the business in 2018.
In return, Lyndsay says she’s thankful and blessed to have learned so much from her dad, not only about the business, but about life in general.  “Not everyone gets the opportunity to be a part of a family business.  I’ll always be thankful for that and how it has allowed me to spend time with my dad every day.”
While Dean is retired now, he still comes into the shop almost every day, at least for a little while, to hang out with Lyndsay as she runs the office, does the estimating, and takes care of the customers on her own.  But Dad isn’t the only family to be found hanging out with Lyndsay at the shop.  Her husband, Dutch Devore, is the painter at Dean’s.
Dutch came on board as a detailer in 2009 and worked for about eighteen months before moving on to work at other places.  He and Lyndsay began dating in 2010, then married in 2016.  In 2018, he returned to Dean’s as painter.
“Not many people can spend twenty-four hours a day with their spouse,” says Lyndsay, “but we enjoy it, and it works for us.”  She also explains that Dutch takes the same pride in his work that Dean always did, and that the two are a lot alike.
Lyndsay’s favorite part of the business is her customers, many of whom come back again and again.  She also loves seeing damaged vehicles being towed or driven in, then leaving as good as new, with happy customers behind the wheel.
“I cannot say enough good things about Dean’s Body Shop,” says customer, Whitney Roseberry.  “I have trusted them with my vehicle repairs on more than one occasion and have always been very pleased.  Their work is remarkable, and their customer service and timeliness are unmatched!”
Eddie and Terry Kimbleton agree.  “They have seen us through three teenage drivers, as well as four encounters with deer, and other accidents.  We think of Dean and Lyndsay as part of the family.”
“That is our main focus,” says Lindsay.  “Treating every vehicle as if it is our own.  We take a lot of pride in our work.”
For this, Lyndsay depends on the great technicians working at Dean’s to keep things running smoothly.  In addition to Dutch, there is Barry Spradlin, who is the auto-body technician.  Mike Leonard is also on board, taking care of alignment, minor mechanical, and body work.  And finally, there is Timmy Williams, taking care of prepping and detailing.
“Without a good team and people who care as much as you do,” she says, “it just wouldn’t work.”
Dean’s Body Shop offers collision repair, alignments, and minor repairs to keep cars in tip top shape.  They work with all insurance companies directly and do their very best at making the claims process as easy as it can be for customers.  If your vehicle needs to be repaired, check out Dean’s Body Shop at 1620 East Main Street in Radford, or give Lyndsay a call at 540-633-0879.  You can also follow Dean’s on Facebook.
As Dean has always said “We appreciate your business”.

Dean’s Body Shop  •  1620 East Main Street in Radford, VA
Lindsay & Dutch Devore  •  540-633-0879